Pete Rose Ban Lifted! What? In a surprise move Tuesday MLB commissioner Rob Manfred lifted lifetime bans from Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson and more than another dozen players. This means they are now eligible for the Hall of Fame.
Rose is baseball's all time hits leader but was banned for betting on baseball while managing the Reds. Jackson threw World Series games while with the White Sox in 1919. Manfred said these player's lives are over therefore their lifetime bans no longer apply. Rose died last fall. But Jackson has been dead almost 75 years.
PETE ROSE BAN LIFTED!
Peter Rose Ban Lifted: Just because the ban is lifted does not mean these players will automatically get into the Hall of Fame. That will be decided by the baseball writers of America who do the actual Hall of Fame voting. They are the gatekeepers to Cooperstown. And they like to hold a grudge.
There will be a large percentage of old-timey writers who will never forgive Rose for betting on baseball. Don't believe me? There is a large percentage of writers who will never forgive players who played in the steroids era. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens have been eligible for the Hall of Fame for years and they come up short on votes every year.
Do I think Rose should be in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. Will he get in? I'm not so sure. But the MLB Hall of Fame is currently absent of the game's all time hits leader and the all time home runs leader (Bonds) and the most dominating pitcher I've seen in my lifetime (Clemens). Without them how is the Hall of Fame the Hall of Fame?
More more MLB talk and analysis tune in each weekday to Craig Shemon and Company from 2-6 pm on ESPN Southwest Florida.
